50 beans | first encounter: francis! francis! Y1

A few years ago, illy came out with this new “iperespresso” machine that they dubbed the Y1 Touch (the first iteration had a manual button). The machine uses a capsule that was developed by illy, one that is supposed to extract the perfect amount of crema and deliver the “perfect” espresso. Of course, I do have lingering questions regarding freshness as the beans are pre-ground and tamped into the capsules before being sealed in cans and shipped out. These would be similar questions I would have for any Keurig or Nespresso system that also use pods. Eager to promote its new machine and espresso product, illy came out with the francis! francis! Y1 touch machine at a steeply discounted price of $75, with a multi-year subscription to their iperespresso capsules.

Although I was eager to test out the new machine, I couldn’t justify making such a large commitment to test out something that I had doubts about in the first place. Plus I had already committed to the Saeco Jura fully-automatic espresso machine a few years ago, so I wouldn’t be able to get another one. Well, this weekend while I was in Miami, the hotel I was staying at had a Y1 touch in the room. Alas, my chance had come to test this bad-boy out.

The design is pretty simple and easy to understand. The little tower is where the pod goes, and where the pressure is presumably generated. The overall look and appeal is nice, the brushed aluminum look with just the right amount of illy-red accents in the right places. For a subsidized $75 machine, this is pretty nice, especially when you consider that most machines like this run in the $200-500 range (I think the entry level nespresso might be $99, but it sure doesn’t look this nice). The one thing I did notice, was the lack of a cup-warmer. I know, this might not be a sticking point for most people, but the other illy machines come with it, so I would’ve expected this machine to include the same.

The machine is pretty self-explanatory, but just in case, an easy-to-understand instruction manual was provided to guide you through the process. The first step of course, is to turn on the machine and fill the tank with water. Of course, it was suggested to use bottled water (I like the fact that the coffee is free, but the bottle of water sitting next to the coffee is $10) – fortunately I had an extra bottle I picked up in the lobby at breakfast. I filled it up and got it ready to go.

My first impression was the ease of use – of course, any espresso pod system would pretty much have to have the same ease of use in order for it to be convenient enough to justify paying more for pods. This system was no other than the keurig or nespresso. Put in the pod, push a button, and once the espresso finished extraction, the pod disposes of itself. In this case, the pod is disposed upon opening it for the next one (similar to the nespresso).

The espresso itself was pretty tasty, it mitigated my concerns about freshness; however, the roast was a bit dark, especially compared to the lighter roasts that I’ve been getting accustomed to at some of the 3rd-waved cafés, though, still way better than any shot I’ve seen pulled at starbucks though. The crema is just right, which makes me think the capsule is probably rigged in a way that will generate the foam when it comes in contact with the oils (not 100% sure though). Overall pretty decent considering it was probably roasted and ground 3-5 months ago.